Son has twin boys of 12 years age. He is an engineer and does a bit of shooting but is not deeply involved in the sport. His boys are bright but have not had their minds captivated by much more than video games. They come down from Virginia to visit this Christmas and I just inquired about whether or not a ML kit might be a device to steer young minds. He is agreeable and interested.

With that said, I would be most interested in suggestions about what kit you might recommend. I am of a mind that anything that leads down the path of experiencing a variety of crafts would be appropriate, to include wood carving, inlet craft, metal work and finish.

Appreciate any suggestions you might have and it matters not if it is a flintlock or caplock. I rather imagine a smaller bore would be preferred, but not mandatory. I do not expect them to hunt large game with the gun but if they become so inclined there are other projects they can follow on with.

Dan, as you well know the best thing is to get them out shooting - a small dose of that trumps any video game on earth. I suspect you've got the hardware side of that covered well.

Then you might consider a Crockett kit from Traditions:

https://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product/Crockett-Rifle-Kit-.32-cal-percussion

We have one of those that I bought for my son (finished, 2nd hand) and it fed his interest well.

He's in to that sort of thing, tho. He prefers a longbow over any other choice and if you invited him squirrel hunting tomorrow he'd show up with his .32.

BTW, he was a video gaming machine, too. Until given an outdoor or shooting alternative!

Joe, thanks for all. Was considering one of the Traditions kits but don't know anything about their quality. .32/.36 sounds like the ballpark to me.

These kids are winners, and whether they take to it or not is their call, but I figure that a little exposure to wood/metal work and maybe some finish fumes will open a horizon or two. Their dad is of the same mind and seemed enthused about the adventure.

How does that Crockett gun shoot?

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Category.aspx/588

Fluffy, the Tracks kits trend to high end pieces when finished. I don't think that's a bad thing, but I'm not sure they would be appropriate for youngsters in their first dance. That's my way of saying they will learn some things from this, maybe good and maybe bad. I'd cringe if the boys and dad screwed up a $1,000 project.

I was quite a bit older when I built my first and yep, I screwed it up a little. Still shot fine but every time I saw the buggered metal I groaned.

Dan .
Frankly I don�t think the Traditions kit would be to bad of a start .
Its got a reasonable lock and a fairly good set of triggers .
Not really much wood or metal work to learn . However if they took their time , did some research , which then resulted in them shaping the stock properly , adding some inlays �. Then one could learn more then meets the eye .
Caliber is small� so that works for small game like rabbits , squirrels and such.
Weight is also reasonable and stock is of average fit . Thus they should get a couple years use from it . At least tell such time as they discover they have outgrown the fit of the rifle .

You might take a look at what Ray Franks from Sitting fox has to offer . Not as high in price as ToW . In a lot of cases 2-300 less depending on what your looking for .
But then again its more of an advanced build unless you have Ray build it in the white . Which would then put the cost back up there .

Myself I think I would ask about the boys , what are their attention spans like . Will this be a in-depth father son type of build or something they just want to spend a weekend doing .
If getting out and shooting is really the goal then IMO the Traditions kit would be a real good option . But if they are already doing a lot of shooting then the more advance build maybe more to their liking .
At 12 years old its really hard to say as in another year or two they will be starting to get into other interests , so its really hard to say what would be best .

Dan, I have been satisfied with the functionality of the Crockett and it is actually a good looking rifle that can turn out as beautiful as the young men can finish it.
I've not handled many Traditions products, but I do consider the Crockett the best of what I've had me grubbies on.

I need to do some work with the rifle in the shooting category. I have to admit that I have been ruined by a .32 Cherokee that was the most accurate open sighted rifle that I've ever handled, when considering responsible round ball ranges. I have a couple of ball sizes and multiple patch thicknesses and 2 lbs of FFFg on hand to play with. All I need is time, I'm safeguarding (snork) the rifle while my son is away at college...
Not to say that the Crockett is not accurate, just that I've been spoiled. That T/C rifle stacked the balls on top of each other at 40 or 50 yards with my then much-younger eyes. A squirrel's worst nightmare. I see no reason why the Crocket won't do the same.

P.S. Keep us posted - there ain't anything I enjoy more than hearing about young men and their rifles!

Lyman Great Plains Rifle kit.......

http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/muzzle-loaders/great-plains-rifle.php

Thanks to all for perspective and suggestions!

FWIW, this will be a three-for-all adventure, the twins and their dad. My boy and I are of the same mind on the project, that it will open some doors with hands on in a way they haven't experienced. I think it would be great if they turned into Loonies, but then I wouldn't gripe if one became a machinist and the other a wood carver. They are both high functioning sorts with longish attention spans. Their dad is possessed in the way that only and engineer can be possessed. He has been doing a lot of classified work for DoD on the subject of munitions...a little retrograde thinking will be good for him.

Joe, the Crockett was the one that caught my eye early on. As Cap said it provides options as much as challenges, without requiring advanced skills. I intend to provide them with a book or two on the subject of gun craft along with the kit and I think the Crockett from Traditions will do just fine. Only question I have about that squirrel rifle is what size cap? 11 I hope, as I have a bunch.

Thanks again,

Dan

#11

Thanks, appreciate that tidbit.

I envy you the chance to do a project like that with your grandsons!

After the guns are complete, they will then have to learn themselves how to sew leather and work cow horn...

Maybe they'll start perusing ToW for shooting goodies instead of World of Warcraft (or whatever). Of course, it'll all be a moot point when they discover cars, girls, and beer- but then we all know there's room in life for all of it!

Very cool thread. My first foray into muzzleloading was with a TC Renegade kit.[thanking god that the metals were all pre-blued].
Killed a few deer with it and along came in-lines. It now hangs over an archway in the house where some have asked if it hails from the Civil War era.

Good luck, and if you start needing wood, let me know.

I got some black walnut suitable for pistols around here, but you'll lose any inletting pre done.



Old school - I remember when I built a trebuchet with my daughter.